Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

And what is the best place to acquire one?

I've been reading Craigslist ads for about 20 minutes. I just know a rodentish pet or pair is on my horizon. (PS I've had rats, mice, and hamsters before. All great in their own ways!)

Rats, rats, rats. You know this about me. We share a rat who we laid to rest under a tree under a rock so dogs wouldn't eat him. Cheers.

My current pair of rats just makes me so happy. And I get them at pet stores, when I'm not adopting them from wonderful friends.

Rats are amazing. Good Old Zeus! There is actually a central Texas rat rescue too.

But I've always been interested in Guinea pigs too..

We have a hedgehog and she's fantastic. We got her from a breeder. The only downside is she was much more expensive than other rodentish animals, and she isn't the best for small children. In a few years when she dies we may get a pair of Guinea pigs.

Oooooh hedgehog, how sweet! Is she your first hedgehog? I may look to see if there are breeders around here. Are hedgehogs social?

Yes, she's our first. Hedgehogs are very solitary, but they can bond well to their owners and be friendly to people (ours is more of a one-person hedgehog, but I've heard from other owners whose hedgehogs like everyone).

my sister-in-law briefly had a hedgehog that she got from a shelter. It was very shy around people... and very cute. I think rats are definitely the most social and intelligent, but I personally don't think they're as cute as hamsters. I guess it depends on if you want to just revel in their cuteness or actually play with them (if you have a good set of blocks you can make mazes for hamsters, and probably for rats).

Guinea pigs!! I love my piggy. I a piggy all of junior high and high school, and then I got a pair of female piggies two years ago. One of them died in the spring (she had heart problems - the usually live 5-10 years), so I have one now. She is currently sitting on my shoulder licking my face. She knows her name and she knows what time I get up and when I come home and she's always waiting for me and wanting to see me. I love her so much.

Gerbils are the worst.

I'm a fan of ferrets, but be prepared to start having your stuff disappear.

Ferrets smell terrible. Or maybe the people I know with ferrets are just bad at keeping their pets clean.

Rats. Game, set, and match: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/1 ... 40908.html

I mean LOOK AT THEM. I had to come back and re-vote, and when I find tiny teddy bears to give my rats, there will be pictures.

Not a rodent, but look at the pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus):

I had to look that one up to be certain it was real! How cute.

Yay, rodent adorableness and a tiny cylindrical armadillo!!! So cute.

I'm on the road to rodentia. I've got a nice cage from a friend and am waiting to hear from a local rat rescue (in the meantime I'm checking craigslist just in case some sweet pair of small mammals needs a home). Loved all your suggestions and thoughts on the various options.

Maybe this is the dumbest question, but...where are the rats being rescued from? Do they like set traps in alleys? Or are there so many people who abandon their pet rats that there's a whole rat rescue just for that?

Eirene wrote:Maybe this is the dumbest question, but...where are the rats being rescued from? Do they like set traps in alleys? Or are there so many people who abandon their pet rats that there's a whole rat rescue just for that?

Sorry it took me a day to respond! The rat rescue is a person who takes in pet rats that would otherwise be abandoned or sometimes used as snake food. I think she mostly gets the from Craigslist ads that are like "my kids don't take care of their rat/I'm moving and can't keep a rat/my rat had babies and it is too much for me." Stuff like that. I like the image of taking random wild rats, but alas no. I've also discovered a Guinea pig rescue of Central Texas and a website called petfinder. I'm visiting this lady's rats this afternoon finally!

Also she only has a few rats at any given time (currently three which she said is a little low) so there isn't a rat- abandonment epidemic.

Soooo we did indeed adopt some rats! Three -- named Clove, Cinnamon, and Vanilla. They are all males and they sometimes do this thing called aggressive grooming to see who is dominant, it is really weird. They are still getting accustomed to us, and Vanilla especially is shy. I tried to take pictures but rats move a lot so it was hard.

Clove, Cinnamon, the cat staring at the cage in confusion